Minister Morgan meets hostages’ families, conveys message from President |09 June 2012

The delegation was headed by the Minister for Home Affairs & Transport Joel Morgan, who is also the chairman of the High-level Committee on Piracy.

Among members of the delegation were the Commissioner of Police, a Chief Superintendent of Police and a representative from the office of the Minister for Community Development, Social Affairs and Sports.

The visits, conducted in the afternoon of May 31, 2012, were aimed at assuring the families that the government was doing its best to secure the expeditious repatriation of the two men and to inform them that both men were still alive, according to credible information received during the ongoing negotiations.

Minister Morgan conveyed a personal message from the President to the families and he expressed his sympathy for the plight the families were going through.

The minister briefed the families on the status of the negotiations to date and informed them of some new developments that gave rise to hope that progress would be made.

He assured them that several parallel efforts were being undertaken to have Mr Tambara and Mr Songoire returned to Seychelles and be reunited with their families.

He also reassured the families that the negotiations remained high priority on the agenda of the government and that they would be kept abreast of any new developments.